Musicals

50 GOLDEN YEARS

1961 - 1968

In March 1961, "The Moon is Blue" was presented, with production by Kath Torney. This sophisticated American comedy was popular with audiences and ran for two extra performances, earning the praise of Mr Colin Badger from C.A.E. In June, Agatha Christie's "The Hollow" was presented, with production by Joy Smith, a newcomer to the group. Joy came to Ballarat with sound experience gained in New Zealand, and was to become a National Theatre stalwart as producer and committee member. She was National Theatre President from 1971 to 1973. In August, after an absence of two years, John Fox returned to produce "Dark of the Moon" which was to be the biggest and most successful play to be staged in the Little Theatre to that date. It played a total of eleven performances and the theatre was packed to capacity on each night. The play had a cast of 22 and a total of 1250 people attended the production.

The final production for the year was a revue entitled "Who Said That?", produced by Kira Mather and Bill Reynolds. This proved to be an excellent production for the pre-Christmas season. As well as major productions, members' nights continued to provide an outlet for the enthusiasm and skill of members. Charles Taylor presented "Scenes from Macbeth" and a play written by Dr Pound of Ballarat was presented by Joy Smith as an acted play-reading. An interesting and provocative talk was given by well known author-playwright David Martin on "Drama, as Art and Religion". During the year two radio plays were presented on 3BA, "Martin Dudley" and "Music at Dusk". Production was by Jenny Strickland. Ballarat Film Society made its home in the Little Theatre in 1961, where it continued for some years.

The first production for 1962 was a season of one-act plays. These were "Flashback", "The Ugly Duckling" and "Temptation Sordid". Production was by Vi Heather, Kira Mather and Alan Wakeling. In May, Gavin Dyer's production of "Hamlet" was staged, with Ron Boon in the title role. The play ran for a season of twelve performances extending over a period of four weeks. Portions of the play were televised and appeared on BTV6. "Come Back Little Sheba" was produced by Pam Skinner who again had to step in at short notice following the cancellation of a production. This was the final production for 1962. Ballarat Film Society continued to hire the theatrette for iis screenings, and during August the Timken Theatrical Group hired the theatre for its first production. Practical assistance was also given to the Timken group, with Miss Connie Russo handling the make-up and Geoff Simmonds the lighting. At the Annual Meeting in October 1962, Miss Russo as President, had stated that on this occasion, the twenty-fifth annual meeting, the theatre could be proud of its achievements, not the least of which were the seventy full-scale productions staged since the theatre's inception in 1938.

1963 was another busy year with the staging of four full-scale productions. In March Connie Russo's production of "Bell, Book and Candle" was staged for the Begonia Festival, and for the occasion the theatre was redecorated. Audiences were good and a record profit of £186 was made. The next production was the Tennessee Williams classic "The Glass Menagerie", which was produced by Judy Reed. This was followed in October by Joy Smith's production of "The Chiltern Hundreds" by William Douglas Home. This production saw the welcome return to the National Theatre stage of Marj Ford and Bob Baker. In December, another revue was staged, "With Knobs On", which was produced by Kath Torney and Ron Boon. This bright production, as with the other revues proved to be very well suited to the time of year. For the theatre's Christmas party, Joy Smith produced a modern morality play which was also presented on BTV6.

The first production for 1964 was Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit", and was produced by Bill Reynolds. It is noted in the annual report that the opening night ticket sales went to the Red ,Cross, who managed to "sell more than a house full of tickets". Joy Smith's production of "The Wood Carver" followed. This thought-provoking morality play represented a complete change of pace which contrasted well with the Coward play, and with the play which was to follow, "A Play for Ronnie". This production, directed by Joan Crompton not only provided a happy season at the theatrette, but also won first prize, carrying with it £60, for the best three-act play at the South Street Competitions. This was the first time in the theatre's history that one of its major productions had gained first place in the Competitions. Improvements to the theatre in 1964 included the building of a separate sound booth at the rear of the theatre, the acquisition of an efficient tape recorder and the installation of a three-way "talkie" system between lighting, sound and the stage manager. This involved many hours of work on the part of Albert Dulfer who was for many years, a mainstay of the theatre, both as sound technician and as President. The final production for 1964 was Peter Ustinov's "Romanoff and Juliet", which was produced by John Stapp.

1965 saw a record number of plays produced. Six plays were presented, the first being Jenny Strickland's production of "Night Must Fall" by Emlyn Wi1liams. Jenny had previously produced this in 1945 and once again audiences were able to enjoy this gripping play. The next production was Graeme Henry's production of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", and this was followed by Ron Boon's production of "Hot Summer Night", "The Little Hut" which was produced by Don Fraser and Joan Crompton's production of the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman comedy, "You Can't Take It With You". The final production for the season was Sandy Wilson's lighthearted musical set in the 1920's "The Boy Friend". Production was by Pam Skinner. "You Can't Take It With You" was successful at the Royal South Street Competitions, winning second place and £25, and the play also set a record for National Theatre attendances. At the Annual Meeting in October, Pam Skinner resigned after 17 years as member and committee member. "The Boy Friend" was staged at a cost of £150, considered to be "big budget" in 1965. To offset these high production costs, admission prices were increased to ten shillings for adults, eight shillings for members and six shilling concessions. In addition to the six major productions of this year, Ballarat National Theatre also won first prize in its section for a float entered into the Begonia Festival. This had been organised by Barbara Fraser, Judy Daley and Graeme Henry; the float featured scenes from "The Taming of the Shrew", and it was felt that the publicity contributed greatly to the success of the production. The prize itself, a handsome silver teapot, featured in one of the season's productions.

The first production for 1966 was "The Queen and the Rebels" produced by Bill Reynolds, which was followed by the George Bernard Shaw favourite, "Pygmalion", production by Alan Wakeling. The Philip King comedy "As Black as She's Painted" directed by Jenny Strickland, and T.S. Eliot's "The Cocktail Party" completed the season. The final production was directed by Joy Smith. Elsewhere on the theatre scene Fred Fargher was shaving his head for Lyric Theatre's first production of "King and I", directed by Joy Smith, and the Scandinavian singing duo Nina and Frederick were touring Australia. In June, the Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Company brought "The Barber of Seville" to Ballarat for a three-night season, and in July Phil Hobson, one of National Theatre's most active acting members, starred in Light Opera Company's production of "Kismet".

Jenny Strickland opened the 1967 season with her production of W.O. Somin's "Close Quarters", described in the January Newsletter as a "thrilling whodunnit set in Europe against the turbulent political background of the 1930's. This was followed by Alan Wakeling's production of "Mary, Mary" by Jean Kerr. In August, Don Fraser's production of "Gigi" was presented, and also entered in the Royal South Street Competitions where it gained third place. Sir Henry and Lady Bolte accepted an invitation to be present at this production. Two more productions completed the season, Maria Bacsak's production of the Australia drama "The Shifting Heart" and "The Brides of March" with production by Don McIntyre. During 1967, discussions between management of BTV6, represented by Bruce Jackson, the General Manager, who was also a member of National Theatre committee, and Ros White, Senior Vice President of the committee, resulted in the inauguration of annual acting awards, sponsored by BTV6. The first awards made, for the 'Best Performance of the Season' were shared by Geoff Tunbridge and Topsy Nevett, the protagonists in "Close Quarters" and Maureen Christie for her role in "The Shifting Heart". The adjudicator for the season was Mr Bill Broderick, and television and stage actor Leonard Teale was Guest Speaker at the awards dinner, which was held at Craig's Hotel.

The opening of the 1968 season once more featured a Jenny Strickland production, "Trap for a Lonely Man". As well as directing plays, Jenny was now Director of the new School of Dramatic Art which had commenced in February of this year. The School, run by Jenny and later by Thelma Walker also, was to become one of National Theatre's most successful ventures. Graduates of the school include Barbara and Don Fraser, °Geoff Morison, Marilyn Chestnut, Andrea Knight, Sonja Kinnersly, Peter Bromley, Margaret Harvey, Elaine Monson, Alan Valpied, Jenny Tudor, Glen Lewis, Judy-Anne Johnson, Gordon Henderson, Bemadette Gannon, Stuart Maiden. In September, a letter of condolence was sent to Miss Gertrude Johnson, the founder of the National Theatre Movement, following the loss by fire of the National Theatre, Melbourne. In September, Maria Bacsak's production of "Under the Sycamore Tree" was staged, and the season concluded with Alan Wakeling's production of the Peter Watkyn comedy, "For Better, For Worse"'. In December, the Totalisator Agency Board renewed the lease on the theatre for a further five years, and improvements to the auditorium and foyer, including new foyer carpet, were carried out.